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The Forbidden Kingdom
It's a shame more time wasn't spent on the script, because with a solid story, this film could have been a classic.
Review by Sirus
Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) is a huge fan of martial arts movies. Everyday he heads down to the local pawn shop to see what he can find that he hasn’t already seen. One day while he is down at the pawn shop, he notices a back room used for storage through a door that is open a crack. When he enters the storage room, he notices a golden staff on display on the left. He recognizes it from one of his favorite movies and asks the store owner (Jackie Chan) about it. He is told that the staff has been sitting there for many generations waiting to be returned to its rightful owner.
Later that day, Jason is brought back to the store by some thugs who want to rob the place, using him as an excuse to get inside. In the confusion caused by the robbery, Jason finds himself running away from the thugs with the staff in hand. When cornered by the thugs on a rooftop, he feels himself thrown off the roof by the power of the staff and he is transported into another world that resembles China. In this fantasy world, he meets up with an old drunk (Jackie Chan) who tells him that in order to go back home, he needs to bring the staff to the top of the mountain and free the monkey king (Jet Li).
Jason meets numerous interesting characters on his way. The movie really feels like a Chinese directed martial arts movie for the most part even though the writer and director are white. Michael Angarano has done very little before this movie to bring attention to himself but I really like his style. He reminds me of Shia LaBeouf in many ways and hopefully he can become as big someday. Jackie Chan and Jet Li are also fantastic in their roles. It is refreshing to see Jackie Chan back in a more traditional martial arts movie instead of the family friendly comedies he has been doing lately.
Jackie Chan’s drunken fighting style is amusing and fun to watch as well as the other numerous fighting styles he uses that he names as he switches to them. Both of the characters Jet Li plays have a number of big fights, which are all amazing. The highlight of it all, though, is when we get to see Jackie Chan and Jet Li go head-to-head in a lengthy fight that showcases both of their talents. Michael Angarano even does some good fighting later on in the movie after he goes through a training montage or two. If nothing else, this movie is worth it just for the fighting because, let’s face it, there isn’t much else people come to this kind of movie for.
The movie has a soundtrack composed by westerners that sounds like something that would come from a typical Chinese martial arts movie. There is a lot of comedy interspersed between the fighting and sometimes in the middle of fights. The Forbidden Kingdom is a treat for fans of Chinese martial arts movies and might even make a fan out of a few for whom it is their first. If you are able to ignore the obvious parts of the movie that are totally unrealistic and just enjoy it for what it is, you will have a great time.
Second Opinion
by Dack
Let's face it: this movie only exists as an excuse to pair Jet Li and Jackie Chan together, sort of like 2007's War existed to pair Jet Li and Jason Statham. And while the fight scenes and interaction between the two heroes in The Forbidden Kingdom is very well-done and enjoyable, the story is downright incoherent. The fight scenes were expertly choreographed and were a real joy to behold, honestly saving this film from ending up on a double feature DVD in a Wal-Mart bargain bin. It's a shame more time wasn't spent on the script, because with a solid story, this film could have been a classic. Instead, The Forbidden Kingdom a weak movie that saves itself from being a disaster with good fighting and a few fun throwbacks to classic Kung Fu cinema.
Final Score
It's a shame more time wasn't spent on the script, because with a solid story, this film could have been a classic.
Review by Sirus
Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) is a huge fan of martial arts movies. Everyday he heads down to the local pawn shop to see what he can find that he hasn’t already seen. One day while he is down at the pawn shop, he notices a back room used for storage through a door that is open a crack. When he enters the storage room, he notices a golden staff on display on the left. He recognizes it from one of his favorite movies and asks the store owner (Jackie Chan) about it. He is told that the staff has been sitting there for many generations waiting to be returned to its rightful owner.
Later that day, Jason is brought back to the store by some thugs who want to rob the place, using him as an excuse to get inside. In the confusion caused by the robbery, Jason finds himself running away from the thugs with the staff in hand. When cornered by the thugs on a rooftop, he feels himself thrown off the roof by the power of the staff and he is transported into another world that resembles China. In this fantasy world, he meets up with an old drunk (Jackie Chan) who tells him that in order to go back home, he needs to bring the staff to the top of the mountain and free the monkey king (Jet Li).
Jason meets numerous interesting characters on his way. The movie really feels like a Chinese directed martial arts movie for the most part even though the writer and director are white. Michael Angarano has done very little before this movie to bring attention to himself but I really like his style. He reminds me of Shia LaBeouf in many ways and hopefully he can become as big someday. Jackie Chan and Jet Li are also fantastic in their roles. It is refreshing to see Jackie Chan back in a more traditional martial arts movie instead of the family friendly comedies he has been doing lately.
Jackie Chan’s drunken fighting style is amusing and fun to watch as well as the other numerous fighting styles he uses that he names as he switches to them. Both of the characters Jet Li plays have a number of big fights, which are all amazing. The highlight of it all, though, is when we get to see Jackie Chan and Jet Li go head-to-head in a lengthy fight that showcases both of their talents. Michael Angarano even does some good fighting later on in the movie after he goes through a training montage or two. If nothing else, this movie is worth it just for the fighting because, let’s face it, there isn’t much else people come to this kind of movie for.
The movie has a soundtrack composed by westerners that sounds like something that would come from a typical Chinese martial arts movie. There is a lot of comedy interspersed between the fighting and sometimes in the middle of fights. The Forbidden Kingdom is a treat for fans of Chinese martial arts movies and might even make a fan out of a few for whom it is their first. If you are able to ignore the obvious parts of the movie that are totally unrealistic and just enjoy it for what it is, you will have a great time.
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by Dack
Let's face it: this movie only exists as an excuse to pair Jet Li and Jackie Chan together, sort of like 2007's War existed to pair Jet Li and Jason Statham. And while the fight scenes and interaction between the two heroes in The Forbidden Kingdom is very well-done and enjoyable, the story is downright incoherent. The fight scenes were expertly choreographed and were a real joy to behold, honestly saving this film from ending up on a double feature DVD in a Wal-Mart bargain bin. It's a shame more time wasn't spent on the script, because with a solid story, this film could have been a classic. Instead, The Forbidden Kingdom a weak movie that saves itself from being a disaster with good fighting and a few fun throwbacks to classic Kung Fu cinema.
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Final Score
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